1.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
2.
Kollur Mine
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The Kollur Mine in the Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh was one of the most productive diamond mines in the world and the first major diamond centre. It is situated on the bank of the River Krishna. It operated between the 16th and mid-19th centuries, in addition to the Kollur, the Paritala, Gollapally, Mallavally, Ramallakota, and Banganapally were extremely prolific mines in India during this period. At the height of production, it was recorded that around 60,000 people mined the region, the famous diamond known as the Tavernier Diamond was purchased by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier from the Kollur mine in the mid-17th century. The diamond was purchased from Tavernier by King Louis XIV of France but was stolen during the French Revolution, the Indian mines were eventually depleted and the diamond centre shifted to Brazil, where a good amount of diamonds were discovered. The Orloff Diamond,300 carats Daryā-ye Nūr,182 carats - in the Iranian Crown The Golconda,135 carats - belonging to Dunklings Jewellers, Melbourne, Dresden Green Diamond,41 carats - The New Green Vault in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Media related to Kollur Mine at Wikimedia Commons
3.
Diamond Fund
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Diamond Fund is a unique collection of gems, jewelry and natural nuggets, stored and exhibited in Moscow Kremlin, Russia. The Fund dates back to the Russian Crown treasury instituted by emperor Peter I of Russia in 1719, peters gem collection, established in 1719, was later stored in the Diamond Chamber in the Winter Palace. All succeeding monarchs added their contributions to the Chamber, a 1922 study by Alexander Fersman identified 85% of all exhibits to 1719–1855, preservation, sales and looting of imperial treasures after the Russian Revolution of 1917 is a matter of controversy and speculation. The Imperial collection was moved from Saint Petersburg to Moscow during World War I, the treasure was first exhibited to the public in November 1967. Originally a short-term show, in 1968 it became a permanent exhibition, the Russian State retains the monopoly for mining and distribution of gemstones, as set by the 1998 law On precious metals and precious stones. Diamond Fund operations are regulated by the 1999 presidential decree, for Russians it is accessible only through guided tours of fixed duration. Foreign visitors can buy a ticket in the lobby and go on themselves. Tours in Russian only are organized daily, 10AM-2PM and 3-5PM at twenty minutes interval
4.
Diamond
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Diamond is a metastable allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at standard conditions. Diamond is renowned as a material with superlative physical qualities, most of which originate from the covalent bonding between its atoms. In particular, diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any bulk material and those properties determine the major industrial application of diamond in cutting and polishing tools and the scientific applications in diamond knives and diamond anvil cells. Because of its extremely rigid lattice, it can be contaminated by very few types of impurities, such as boron, small amounts of defects or impurities color diamond blue, yellow, brown, green, purple, pink, orange or red. Diamond also has relatively high optical dispersion, most natural diamonds are formed at high temperature and pressure at depths of 140 to 190 kilometers in the Earths mantle. Carbon-containing minerals provide the source, and the growth occurs over periods from 1 billion to 3.3 billion years. Diamonds are brought close to the Earths surface through deep volcanic eruptions by magma, Diamonds can also be produced synthetically in a HPHT method which approximately simulates the conditions in the Earths mantle. An alternative, and completely different growth technique is chemical vapor deposition, several non-diamond materials, which include cubic zirconia and silicon carbide and are often called diamond simulants, resemble diamond in appearance and many properties. Special gemological techniques have developed to distinguish natural diamonds, synthetic diamonds. The word is from the ancient Greek ἀδάμας – adámas unbreakable, the name diamond is derived from the ancient Greek αδάμας, proper, unalterable, unbreakable, untamed, from ἀ-, un- + δαμάω, I overpower, I tame. Diamonds have been known in India for at least 3,000 years, Diamonds have been treasured as gemstones since their use as religious icons in ancient India. Their usage in engraving tools also dates to early human history, later in 1797, the English chemist Smithson Tennant repeated and expanded that experiment. By demonstrating that burning diamond and graphite releases the same amount of gas, the most familiar uses of diamonds today are as gemstones used for adornment, a use which dates back into antiquity, and as industrial abrasives for cutting hard materials. The dispersion of light into spectral colors is the primary gemological characteristic of gem diamonds. In the 20th century, experts in gemology developed methods of grading diamonds, four characteristics, known informally as the four Cs, are now commonly used as the basic descriptors of diamonds, these are carat, cut, color, and clarity. A large, flawless diamond is known as a paragon and these conditions are met in two places on Earth, in the lithospheric mantle below relatively stable continental plates, and at the site of a meteorite strike. The conditions for diamond formation to happen in the mantle occur at considerable depth corresponding to the requirements of temperature and pressure
5.
Moscow Kremlin
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It is the best known of the kremlins and includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. Also within this complex is the Grand Kremlin Palace, the complex serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. It had previously used to refer to the government of the Soviet Union. Kremlinology refers to the study of Soviet and Russian politics, the site has been continuously inhabited by Finno-Ugric peoples since the 2nd century BC. Vyatichi built a structure on the hill where the Neglinnaya River flowed into the Moskva River. Up to the 14th century, the site was known as the grad of Moscow, the word Kremlin was first recorded in 1331. The grad was greatly extended by Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy in 1156, destroyed by the Mongols in 1237, dmitri Donskoi replaced the oak walls with a strong citadel of white limestone in 1366–1368 on the basic foundations of the current walls, this fortification withstood a siege by Khan Tokhtamysh. Dmitris son Vasily I resumed construction of churches and cloisters in the Kremlin, the newly built Annunciation Cathedral was painted by Theophanes the Greek, Andrei Rublev, and Prokhor in 1406. The Chudov Monastery was founded by Dmitris tutor, Metropolitan Alexis, while his widow, Eudoxia and it was during his reign that three extant cathedrals of the Kremlin, the Deposition Church, and the Palace of Facets were constructed. The highest building of the city and Muscovite Russia was the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, built in 1505–08, the Kremlin walls as they now appear were built between 1485 and 1495. Spasskie gates of the wall bear a dedication in Latin praising Petrus Antonius Solarius for the design. After construction of the new walls and churches was complete. The Kremlin was separated from the merchant town by a 30-meter-wide moat. The same tsar also renovated some of his grandfathers palaces, added a new palace and cathedral for his sons, and endowed the Trinity metochion inside the Kremlin. The metochion was administrated by the Trinity Monastery and boasted the graceful tower church of St. Sergius, during the Time of Troubles, the Kremlin was held by the Polish forces for two years, between 21 September 1610 and 26 October 1612. The Kremlins liberation by the army of prince Dmitry Pozharsky. During his reign and that of his son Alexis, the eleven-domed Upper Saviour Cathedral, Armorial Gate, Terem Palace, Amusement Palace, following the death of Alexis, the Kremlin witnessed the Moscow Uprising of 1682, from which czar Peter barely escaped. As a result, both of them disliked the Kremlin, three decades later, Peter abandoned the residence of his forefathers for his new capital, Saint Petersburg
6.
Catherine the Great
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Catherine II of Russia, also known as Catherine the Great, was a Russian monarch. She was the female leader of Russia, reigning from 1762 until her death in 1796 at the age of 67. She came to following a coup détat when her husband. Russia was revitalised under her reign, growing larger and stronger than ever, in both her accession to power and in rule of her empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favourites, most notably Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. In the west, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ruled by Catherines former lover, king Stanisław August Poniatowski, was eventually partitioned, in the east, Russia started to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America. Catherine reformed the administration of Russian guberniyas, and many new cities, an admirer of Peter the Great, Catherine continued to modernise Russia along Western European lines. However, military conscription and the continued to depend on serfdom. This was one of the reasons behind several rebellions, including the large-scale Pugachevs Rebellion of cossacks. The period of Catherine the Greats rule, the Catherinian Era, is considered the Golden Age of the Russian Empire. The Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility, issued during the reign of Peter III and confirmed by Catherine. Construction of many mansions of the nobility, in the classical style endorsed by the Empress and she enthusiastically supported the ideals of The Enlightenment, thus earning the status of an enlightened despot. Catherine was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia as Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, she was nicknamed Figchen. Her father, Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, belonged to the ruling German family of Anhalt, two of her first cousins became Kings of Sweden, Gustav III and Charles XIII. In accordance with the then prevailing in the ruling dynasties of Germany, she received her education chiefly from a French governess. She once wrote to her correspondent Baron Grimm, I see nothing of interest in it, although Catherine was born a princess, her family had very little money. Catherines rise to power was supported by her mothers relatives who were both wealthy nobles and royal relations. Catherine first met Peter III at the age of 10, based on her writings, she found Peter detestable upon meeting him. She disliked his pale complexion and his fondness for alcohol at such a young age, Peter also still played with toy soldiers
7.
Golkonda
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It is also a tehsil of Hyderabad district, Telangana, India. The region is known for the mines that have produced some of the worlds most famous gems, including the Koh-i-Noor, the Hope Diamond and the Nassak Diamond. Golkonda was originally known as Mankal. Golkonda Fort was first built by the Kakatiya dynasty as part of their defenses along the lines of the Kondapalli Fort. The city and the fortress were built on a hill that is 120 meters high. The fort was rebuilt and strengthened by Rani Rudrama Devi and her successor Prataparudra, later, the fort came under the control of the Musunuri Nayaks, who defeated the Tughlaqi army occupying Warangal. It was ceded by the Musunuri Kapaya Nayak to the Bahmani Sultanate as part of a treaty in 1364, under the Bahmani Sultanate, Golkonda slowly rose to prominence. Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, sent as a governor of Telangana, established it as the seat of his government around 1501, Bahmani rule gradually weakened during this period, and Sultan Quli formally became independent in 1538, establishing the Qutb Shahi dynasty based in Golkonda. Over a period of 62 years, the mud fort was expanded by the first three Qutb Shahi sultans into the present structure, a fortification of granite extending around 5 km in circumference. It remained the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty until 1590 when the capital was shifted to Hyderabad, the Qutb Shahis expanded the fort, whose 7 kilometres outer wall enclosed the city. The fort finally fell into ruin in 1687, after a long siege leading to its fall at the hands of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The Golkonda Fort used to have a vault where once the famous Koh-i-Noor, Golkonda is renowned for the diamonds found on the south-east at Kollur Mine near Kollur, Guntur district, Paritala and Atkur in Krishna district and cut in the city during the Kakatiya reign. At that time, India had the only known diamond mines in the world, Golkonda was the market city of the diamond trade, and gems sold there came from a number of mines. The fortress-city within the walls was famous for diamond trade, however, Europeans believed that diamonds were found only in the fabled Golkonda mines. Its name has taken a generic meaning and has come to be associated with great wealth, gemologists use this classification to denote a diamond with a complete lack of nitrogen, Golconda material is also referred to as 2A. During the Renaissance and the modern eras, the name Golkonda acquired a legendary aura. The lowest of these is the outermost enclosure into which we enter by the Fateh Darwaza studded with giant iron spikes near the south-eastern corner, at Fateh Darwaza can be experienced a fantastic acoustic effect, characteristic of the engineering marvels at Golkonda. A hand clap at a point below the dome at the entrance reverberates and can be heard clearly at the Bala Hisar pavilion. This worked as a note to the royals in case of an attack
8.
Carnatic Wars
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The Carnatic Wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century in India. They were mainly fought on the territories in India which were dominated by the Nizam of Hyderabad up to the Godavari delta, as a result of these military contests, the British East India Company established its dominance among the European trading companies within India. The French company was pushed to a corner and was confined primarily to Pondichéry, the East India companys dominance eventually led to control by the British Company over most of India and eventually to the establishment of the British Raj. In the 18th century, the coastal Carnatic region was a dependency of Hyderabad, three Carnatic Wars were fought between 1746 and 1763. The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb died in 1707 and he was succeeded by Bahadur Shah I, but there was a general decline in central control over the empire during the tenure of Jahandar Shah and later emperors. Nizam-ul-Mulk established Hyderabad as an independent kingdom, a power struggle ensued after his death between his son, Nasir Jung, and his grandson, Muzaffar Jung, which was the opportunity France and England needed to interfere in Indian politics. France aided Muzaffar Jung while England aided Nasir Jung, several erstwhile Mughal territories were autonomous such as the Carnatic, ruled by Nawab Dost Ali Khan, despite being under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad. French and English interference included those of the affairs of the Nawab, Dost Alis death sparked a power struggle between his son-in-law Chanda Sahib, supported by the French, and Muhammad Ali, supported by the English. One major instigator of the Carnatic Wars was the Frenchman Joseph François Dupleix, Dupleix sought to expand French influence in India, which was limited to a few trading outposts, the chief one being Pondicherry on the Coromandel Coast. Immediately upon his arrival in India, he organized Indian recruits under French officers for the first time, however, he was met by the equally challenging and determined young officer from the British Army, Robert Clive. The Austrian War of Succession in 1740 and later the war in 1756 automatically led to a conflict in India. in 1740 the War of the Austrian Succession broke out in Europe. Great Britain was only drawn into the war in 1744, when it entered the war opposed to France, the trading companies of both countries maintained cordial relations among themselves in India while their parent countries were bitter enemies on the European continent. Dodwell writes, Such were the relations between the English and the French that the French sent their goods and merchandise from Pondicherry to Madras for safe custody. Although French company officials were ordered to avoid conflict, British officials were not, after the British initially captured a few French merchant ships, the French called for backup from as far afield as Isle de France, beginning an escalation in naval forces in the area. In July 1746 French commander La Bourdonnais and British Admiral Edward Peyton fought an action off Negapatam. On 21 September 1746, the French captured the British outpost at Madras, La Bourdonnais had promised to return Madras to the English, but Dupleix withdrew that promise, and one to give Madras to Anwar-ud-din after the capture. The Nawab then sent a 10, 000-man army to take Madras from the French, the French then made several attempts to capture the British Fort St. David at Cuddalore, but the timely arrivals of reinforcements halted these, and eventually turned the tables on the French. British Admiral Edward Boscawen besieged Pondicherry in the months of 1748
9.
Srirangam
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Srirangam is an island and a part of the city of Tiruchirapalli, in South India. Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side, Srirangam is home to a significant population of Srivaishnavites. Srirangam is famous for its Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, a pilgrimage destination for Hindus. According to the website, Srirangam can be considered the biggest functioning Hindu temple in the world. Angkor Wat is bigger but non-functioning, Srirangam among a few self-manifested shrines of Lord Vishnu. The temple complex is enormous and spans 156 acres and it has seven prakaras or enclosures. These enclosures are formed by thick and huge rampart walls which run round the sanctum, there are 21 magnificent towers in all prakaras providing a unique sight to any visitor. The temple town lies on a formed by the twin rivers Cauvery. The Srirangam temple complex is composed of 7 concentric walled sections and 21 towers gopuram, the southern gopuram of the temple, called the Rajagopuram, is 236 feet tall and, as of 2016, is the second tallest in Asia. The construction of this Rajagopuram was begun during the reign of Achyuta Deva Raya of the Vijayanagara empire, however, construction was halted after his death and the structure of the rajagopuram remained incomplete for 400 years. The monumental task of completion of the rajagopuram was undertaken and completed successfully by Sri Vedanta Desika Yatheendra Mahadesikan, the construction was completed in a span of 8 years. The Rajagopuram was consecrated on 25 March 1987, the temple has seven prakaras with gopurams articulating the axial path, the highest at the outermost prakara and the lowest at the innermost. The Srirangam temple is one of the three temples of the God Ranganatha that are situated in the islands formed in the Kaveri river. Clothes such as Silk Sarees, Dhoti, Towels, etc. used for religious purposes are auctioned here, inside the temple complex, there is a separate temple dedicated to the goddess Andal. Additionally, there is a museum, a library and a bookshop, Lord Rama performed aradhanam to Vishnus idol. As a symbol of love he gifted the idol to Vibishana to take back him to Lanka. There was a condition that he could not set the idol on earth, Vibishana took this idol and while travelling towards Lanka, came upon the banks of the river Kaveri. He placed the idol on banks of river Kaveri, while an utsavam was in progress, when the utsavam got over, the Lord refused to move as he loved the place
10.
Amsterdam
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Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper,1,351,587 in the urban area, the city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe. Amsterdams name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the citys origin around a dam in the river Amstel, during that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned, the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered a world city by the Globalization. The city is also the capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the worlds 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th globally on quality of living for environment, the city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river, the earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27,1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks, the certificate describes the inhabitants as homines manentes apud Amestelledamme. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam, Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat. Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306, from the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League
11.
Grigory Orlov
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Count Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov was the favorite of Empress Catherine the Great of Russia who presumably fathered her son. He led the coup which overthrew Catherines husband Peter III of Russia, for some years, he was virtually co-ruler with her, but his repeated infidelities and the enmity of Catherines other advisers led to his fall from power. He was the son of Gregory Orlov, governor of Great Novgorod and he was educated in the corps of cadets at Saint Petersburg, began his military career in the Seven Years War, and was wounded at Zorndorf. After the event, Empress Catherine raised him to the rank of count and made him adjutant-general, director-general of engineers and they had two illegitimate children, Yelizaveta and Aleksey, who were born in 1761 and 1762, respectively. The son was named after the village of Bobriki where he lived, Orlovs influence became paramount after the discovery of the Khitrovo plot to murder the whole Orlov family. At one time, the Empress thought of marrying her favorite, Orlov was no statesman, but he had a quick wit, a fairly accurate appreciation of current events, and was a useful and sympathetic counselor during the earlier portion of Catherines reign. He entered with enthusiasm, both from patriotic and from economical motives, into the question of the improvement of the condition of the serfs and he was one of the earliest propagandists of the Slavophile idea of the emancipation of the Christians from Ottoman rule. Meanwhile, Orlovs enemies, led by Panin, were attempting to break up the relationship between Orlov and Catherine and they informed the empress that Orlov had seduced his 13-year-old relative. A handsome young officer, Alexander Vasilchikov, was installed as her new lover, to rekindle Catherines affection, Grigory presented to her one of the greater diamonds of the world, known ever since as the Orlov Diamond. By the time he returned - without permission - to his Marble Palace at Saint Petersburg, when Potemkin, in 1774, superseded Vasilchikov as the queens lover, Orlov became of no account at court and went abroad for some years. He returned to Russia a few prior to his death. In 1777, at the age of 43, he married his 18-year-old relative, Catherine Zinovyeva, variously described by sources as either a niece or a cousin, Catherine died of tuberculosis in 1783, at the age of 22. For some time before his death, he suffered from a mental illness, probably a form of dementia. After his death, Catherine wrote, Although I have long been prepared for this sad event, people may console me, I may even repeat to myself all those things which it is customary to say on such occasions--my only answer is strangled tears
12.
Dutch guilder
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The Dutch guilder or fl. was the currency of the Netherlands from the 17th century until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro. Between 1999 and 2002, the guilder was officially a national subunit of the euro, however, physical payments could only be made in guilder, as no euro coins or banknotes were available. The Netherlands Antillean guilder is still in use in Curaçao and Sint Maarten, in 2004, the Surinamese guilder was replaced by the Surinamese dollar. The Dutch name gulden was a Middle Dutch adjective meaning golden, the symbol ƒ or fl. for the Dutch guilder was derived from another old currency, the florin, called the florin in English. The exact exchange rate, still relevant for old contracts and for exchange of the old currency for euros at the bank, is 2.20371 Dutch guilders for 1 euro. Inverted, this gives EUR0.453780 for NLG1, before the introduction of the first guilder, there were regional and foreign golden coins that were likely referred to as gulden in Dutch. The first internationally accepted Dutch coin called gulden dates from 1517, even before that, the County of Holland had minted golden coins since 1378. An early guilder, a 10. 61-gram.910 silver coin, was minted by the States of Holland and this guilder was divided into 20 stuivers, each of 8 duiten or 16 penningen. The guilder gradually replaced other silver coin circulating in the United Netherlands, the florijn, the daalder, the rijksdaalder, the silver ducat. Between 1810 and 1814, the Netherlands was annexed to France, after the Napoleonic wars, the Kingdom of the Netherlands readopted the guilder. In 1817 it became decimalised, with one guilder equal to 100 cents, until 1948, the plural of cent used on coins was centen, after that it was cent. The Netherlands was initially on a standard, with the guilder equal to 605.61 milligrams of fine gold or 9.615 grams of fine silver. In 1840, the standard was adjusted to 9.45 grams. In 1875, the Netherlands adopted a standard with 1 guilder equal to 604.8 milligrams of fine gold. The gold standard was suspended between 1914 and 1925 and was abandoned in 1936, following the German occupation, on 10 May 1940, the guilder was pegged to the Reichsmark at a rate of 1 guilder =1.5 Reichsmark. This rate was reduced to 1.327 on 17 July of the same year, the liberating Allied forces set an exchange rate of 2.652 guilders =1 U. S. dollar, which became the peg for the guilder within the Bretton Woods system. In 1949, the peg was changed to 3.8 guilders =1 dollar, in 1961, the guilder was revalued to 3.62 guilders =1 dollar, a change approximately in line with that of the German mark. After 1967 guilders were made from nickel instead of silver, in 2002, the guilder was replaced by the euro at an exchange rate of 2.20371 guilders =1 Euro
13.
Revolution
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Aristotle described two types of political revolution, Complete change from one constitution to another Modification of an existing constitution. Revolutions have occurred through history and vary widely in terms of methods, duration. Their results include major changes in culture, economy, and socio-political institutions, scholarly debates about what does and does not constitute a revolution center on several issues. Several generations of scholarly thought on revolutions have generated many competing theories, the word revolucion is known in French from the 13th century, and revolution in English by the late fourteenth century, with regards to the revolving motion of celestial bodies. Revolution in the sense of representing abrupt change in an order is attested by at least 1450. Political usage of the term had been established by 1688 in the description of the replacement of James II with William III. The process was termed The Glorious Revolution, there are many different typologies of revolutions in social science and literature. One of several different Marxist typologies divides revolutions into pre-capitalist, early bourgeois, bourgeois, bourgeois-democratic, early proletarian, Charles Tilly, a modern scholar of revolutions, differentiated between a coup, a top-down seizure of power, a civil war, a revolt and a great revolution. Other types of revolution, created for other typologies, include the social revolutions, proletarian or communist revolutions, failed or abortive revolutions, the term revolution has also been used to denote great changes outside the political sphere. Such revolutions are usually recognized as having transformed in society, culture, philosophy and technology much more than political systems, some can be global, while others are limited to single countries. One of the examples of the usage of the word revolution in such context is the Industrial Revolution. Note that such revolutions also fit the slow revolution definition of Tocqueville, a similar example is the Digital Revolution. Perhaps most often, the revolution is employed to denote a change in socio-political institutions. Jeff Goodwin gives two definitions of a revolution, political and socioeconomic revolutions have been studied in many social sciences, particularly sociology, political sciences and history. Scholars of revolutions, like Jack Goldstone, differentiate four current generations of scholarly research dealing with revolutions, the scholars of the first generation such as Gustave Le Bon, Charles A. Second generation theorists sought to develop detailed theories of why and when revolutions arise and they can be divided into three major approaches, psychological, sociological and political. The works of Ted Robert Gurr, Ivo K. Feierbrand, Rosalind L. Feierbrand, James A. Geschwender, David C. Schwartz, the second group, composed of academics such as Chalmers Johnson, Neil Smelser, Bob Jessop, Mark Hart, Edward A. As in the school, they differed in their definitions of what causes disequilibrium
14.
Grigory Potemkin
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Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tavricheski was a Russian military leader, statesman, nobleman and favourite of Catherine the Great. He died during negotiations over the Treaty of Jassy, which ended a war with the Ottoman Empire that he had overseen, Potemkin was born into a family of middle-income noble landowners. He first attracted Catherines favor for helping in her 1762 coup and he became Catherines lover, favorite and possibly her consort. After their passion cooled, he remained her friend and favored statesman. Potemkins defining achievements include the annexation of the Crimea and the successful second Russo-Turkish War. The fall of Ottoman stronghold Izmail that he orchestrated prompted Gavrila Derzhavin and Osip Kozlovsky to write Russias first national anthem, in 1774, Potemkin became the governor-general of Russias new southern provinces. An absolute ruler, he worked to colonize the wild steppes and he founded the towns of Kherson, Nikolayev, Sevastopol, and Ekaterinoslav. Ports in the region became bases for his new Black Sea Fleet, Potemkin was known for his love of women, gambling and material wealth, he oversaw the construction of many historically significant buildings, including the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg. A descendant of the Moscovite diplomat Pyotr Potemkin, Grigory was born in the village of Chizhovo near Smolensk into a family of noble landowners. His father, Alexander Potemkin, was a war veteran, his mother Daria was good-looking, capable and intelligent. Potemkin received his first name in honour of his fathers cousin Grigory Matveevich Kizlovsky and it has been suggested that Kizlovsky fathered Potemkin, who became the centre of attention, heir to the village and the only son among six children. As the son of a family, he grew up with the expectation that he would serve the Russian Empire. After Alexander died in 1746, Daria took charge of the family, in order to achieve a career for her son, and aided by Kizlovsky, the family moved to Moscow, where Potemkin enrolled at a gymnasium school attached to the University of Moscow. The young Potemkin became adept at languages and interested in the Russian Orthodox Church and he enlisted in the army in 1750 at age eleven, in accordance with the custom of noble children. In 1755 a second inspection placed him in the élite Horse Guards regiment, having graduated from the University school, Potemkin became one of the first students to enroll at the University itself. Talented in both Greek and theology, he won the Universitys Gold Medal in 1757 and became part of a twelve-student delegation sent to Saint Petersburg later that year, the trip seems to have affected Potemkin, afterwards he studied little and was soon expelled. Faced with isolation from his family, he rejoined the Guards, at this time his net worth amounted to 430 souls, equivalent to that of the poorer gentry. His time was taken up drinking, gambling, and promiscuous lovemaking
15.
Marble Palace
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Marble Palace is one of the first Neoclassical palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is situated between the Field of Mars and Palace Quay, slightly to the east from New Michael Palace, the palace was built by Count Grigory Orlov, the favorite of Empress Catherine the Great and the most powerful Russian nobleman of the 1760s. Construction started in 1768 to designs by Antonio Rinaldi, who previously had helped decorate the palace at Caserta near Naples. The combination of sumptuous ornamentation with rigorously classicizing monumentality, as practiced by Rinaldi, the palace takes its name from its opulent decoration in a wide variety of polychrome marbles. A rough-grained Finnish granite on the floor is in subtle contrast to polished pink Karelian marble of the pilasters and white Urals marble of capitals. Panels of veined bluish gray Urals marble separate the floors, while Tallinn dolomite was employed for ornamental urns, in all,32 disparate shades of marble were used to decorate the palace. The plan of the edifice is trapezoidal, each of its four facades, one of the facades conceals a recessed courtyard, where an armored car employed by Lenin during the October Revolution used to be mounted on display between 1937 and 1992. In 1797–1798 the structure was leased to Stanisław II Augustus, the last king of Poland, thereafter the palace belonged to Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich and his heirs from the Konstantinovichi branch of the Romanov family. In 1843, Grand Duke Constantine Nikolayevich decided to redecorate the edifice, renaming it Constantine Palace, an adjacent church and other outbuildings were completely rebuilt, while the interior of the palace was refurbished in keeping with the eclectic tastes of its new owner. Only the main staircase and the Marble Hall survived that refacing and still retain the refined stucco work, ukhnalev A. E. Mramornyi dvorets v Sankt-Peterburge. Media related to Marble Palace at Wikimedia Commons Marble Palace Marble Palace by Saint-Petersburg. com
16.
Saint Petersburg
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Saint Petersburg is Russias second-largest city after Moscow, with five million inhabitants in 2012, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. It is politically incorporated as a federal subject, situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 271703. In 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, in 1924 to Leningrad, between 1713 and 1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of imperial Russia. In 1918, the government bodies moved to Moscow. Saint Petersburg is one of the cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. A large number of consulates, international corporations, banks. Swedish colonists built Nyenskans, a fortress, at the mouth of the Neva River in 1611, in a then called Ingermanland. A small town called Nyen grew up around it, Peter the Great was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he intended to have Russia gain a seaport in order to be able to trade with other maritime nations. He needed a better seaport than Arkhangelsk, which was on the White Sea to the north, on May 1703121703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured Nyenskans, and soon replaced the fortress. On May 271703, closer to the estuary 5 km inland from the gulf), on Zayachy Island, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. The city was built by conscripted peasants from all over Russia, tens of thousands of serfs died building the city. Later, the city became the centre of the Saint Petersburg Governorate, Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712,9 years before the Treaty of Nystad of 1721 ended the war, he referred to Saint Petersburg as the capital as early as 1704. During its first few years, the city developed around Trinity Square on the bank of the Neva, near the Peter. However, Saint Petersburg soon started to be built out according to a plan, by 1716 the Swiss Italian Domenico Trezzini had elaborated a project whereby the city centre would be located on Vasilyevsky Island and shaped by a rectangular grid of canals. The project was not completed, but is evident in the layout of the streets, in 1716, Peter the Great appointed French Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond as the chief architect of Saint Petersburg. In 1724 the Academy of Sciences, University and Academic Gymnasium were established in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great, in 1725, Peter died at the age of fifty-two. His endeavours to modernize Russia had met opposition from the Russian nobility—resulting in several attempts on his life
17.
Sceptre
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A sceptre or scepter is a symbolic ornamental staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty, either right or cruel, the ancient Indian work of Tirukkural dedicates a separate chapter each on the ethics of the right sceptre and the evils of the cruel sceptre. The Was and other types of staffs were signs of authority in Ancient Egypt, for this reason, they are often described as sceptres, even if they are full-length staffs. One of the earliest royal sceptres was discovered in the 2nd Dynasty tomb of Khasekhemwy in Abydos, kings were also known to carry a staff, and Pharaoh Anedjib is shown on stone vessels carrying a so-called mks-staff. The staff with the longest history seems to be the heqa-sceptre, the Bronze Age rulers of Mesopotamia are not regularly depicted with sceptres. However, in instances, they are shown armed, with bow and arrow. Use of a rod or staff as representing authority can be traced to the beginning of Classical Antiquity. Among the early Greeks, the sceptre was a staff, such as Agamemnon wielded or was used by respected elders, and came to be used by judges, military leaders, priests. It is represented on painted vases as a staff tipped with a metal ornament. When the sceptre is borne by Zeus or Hades, it is headed by a bird, when, in the Iliad, Agamemnon sends Odysseus to the leaders of the Achaeans, he lends him his sceptre. Among the Etruscans, sceptres of great magnificence were used by kings, many representations of such sceptres occur on the walls of the painted tombs of Etruria. The British Museum, the Vatican, and the Louvre possess Etruscan sceptres of gold, the Roman sceptre probably derived from the Etruscan. Under the Republic, a sceptre was a mark of consular rank. It was also used by generals who received the title of imperator. In the First Persian Empire, the Biblical Book of Esther mentions the sceptre of the King of Persia. Esther 5,2 When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight, so Esther came near, and touched the top of the scepter. Under the Roman Empire, the sceptrum Augusti was specially used by the emperors, the codes of the right and the cruel sceptre are found in the ancient Tamil work of Tirukkural, dating back to between the first and the third centuries BCE. With the advent of Christianity, the sceptre was tipped with a cross instead of with an eagle
18.
Diamond cut
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A diamond cut is a style or design guide used when shaping a diamond for polishing such as the brilliant cut. Cut does not refer to shape, but the symmetry, proportioning, the cut of a diamond greatly affects a diamonds brilliance, this means if it is cut poorly, it will be less luminous. In order to best use a diamond gemstones material properties, a number of different diamond cuts have been developed, a diamond cut constitutes a more or less symmetrical arrangement of facets, which together modify the shape and appearance of a diamond crystal. Diamond cutters must consider several factors, such as the shape and size of the crystal, the practical history of diamond cuts can be traced back to the Middle Ages, while their theoretical basis was not developed until the turn of the 20th century. The most popular of diamond cuts is the round brilliant, whose facet arrangements. Also popular are the cuts, which come in a variety of shapes—many of which were derived from the round brilliant. A diamonds cut is evaluated by trained graders, with higher grades given to stones whose symmetry, the strictest standards are applied to the round brilliant, although its facet count is invariable, its proportions are not. Different countries base their cut grading on different ideals, one may speak of the American Standard or the Scandinavian Standard, to give but two examples. The history of diamond cuts can be traced to the late Middle Ages and this was called the point cut and dates from the mid 14th century, by 1375 there was a guild of diamond polishers at Nürnberg. By the mid 15th century, the point cut began to be improved upon, the importance of a culet was also realised, and some table-cut stones may possess one. The addition of four corner facets created the old single cut, neither of these early cuts would reveal what diamond is prized for today, its strong dispersion or fire. At the time, diamond was valued chiefly for its lustre and superlative hardness. For this reason, colored gemstones such as ruby and sapphire were far more popular in jewelry of the era. In or around 1476, Lodewyk van Berquem, a Flemish polisher of Bruges, introduced the technique of absolute symmetry in the disposition of facets using a device of his own invention, the scaif. He cut stones in the known as pendeloque or briolette. However, Indian rose cuts were far less symmetrical as their cutters had the primary interest of conserving carat weight, in either event, the rose cut continued to evolve, with its depth, number and arrangements of facets being tweaked. The first brilliant cuts were introduced in the middle of the 17th century, known as Mazarins, they had 17 facets on the crown. They are also called double-cut brilliants as they are seen as a step up from old single cuts, yet Peruzzi-cut diamonds, when seen nowadays, seem exceedingly dull compared to modern-cut brilliants
19.
Edward Twining
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Edward Francis Twining, Baron Twining GCMG MBE KStJ, known as Sir Edward Twining from 1949 to 1958, was a British diplomat, formerly Governor of North Borneo and Governor of Tanganyika. He was a member of the Twining tea family, in 1960 he published a book titled A History of the Crown Jewels of Europe, at over 700 pages it is probably the most extensive book on the subject. Twining was born in 1899 in Westminster to William Henry Greaves Twining and his wife, Agatha Georgina and his brother Stephan Twining became the managing director of the tea merchants, Twinings. He attended Lancing before training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and he married Helen Mary, daughter of Arthur Edmund Du Buisson, in 1928 and they had two sons. He served in Dublin with the Worcestershire Regiment between 1919 and 1922, inadvertently capturing Éamon de Valera in 1921 and he was appointed MBE for his services in Ireland. He then entered the administrative service following two tours of Uganda with the 4th Kings African Rifles, returning there in 1929 as an assistant district commissioner. He moved to Mauritius as director of labour in 1939, before becoming administrator in St Lucia in 1943, he was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael, Twining served as Governor of North Borneo from November 1946. In 1949 he was promoted to KCMG and became Governor of Tanganyika and he was promoted to GCMG in 1953 and following his retirement, he became a life peer as Baron Twining, of Tanganyika and of Godalming in the County of Surrey, on 22 August 1958. He was appointed a Knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John in 1950 and he also served as Honorary Colonel to 6th Battalion Kings African Rifles from 1955 to 1958. A History of the Crown Jewels of Europe, hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by Mr Francis Twining
20.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
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